A concept receives prominence

In recent years the term “integrity” receives more prominence in research on government and governance as well as policy making at all levels of society. But what is integrity? What characterizes the integrity of a person, functionary, or organization? And even whole society? How does an integral life luke like?

In literature integrity is defined by using such keywords as wholeness and coherence; professional responsibility; moral reflection; value(s) like incorruptibility, laws and rules; moral values and norms; and exemplary behavior. The Latin rootword integras stands for intact, whole, harmony, with integrity as “wholeness” or completeness, as consistency and coherence of principles and values. Karssing puts it right by stating: “Integrity means that a professional exercises his tasks adequately, carefully and responsibly, taking into account all relevant interests” [1].

Integrity goes hand-in-hand with morality and ethics, which refer to what is right or wrong in society. Both are shaped by religious and ideological convictions and form values and norms of a society, in other words the basic culture, which determines the accepted “design for living” [2]. To abuse such norms for private gain is called corruption.

Phenomena such as bribery; patronage and favoritism; private time misbehavior; fraud; intimidation and discrimination; and so forth might be caused by different characteristics of the involved individuals, the organization (culture and structure), and the environment. To explore corruption means no less then to explore an Iceberg [3]. A whole library is written on it.

A friend said: “Ideology is gone, religion was taken away – what is left is unknown”

Today corruption has reached literally all levels of society. There is rarely any society in the world without corruption and violated integrity. Even in academia [4] and religious organizations such as churches, fraud has become a daily reflected phenomenon. More than 500,000 members left the Roman Catholic Church of Germany in 2022 alone, because of disintegrated behavior of priests and clergy [5]. It is estimated that the total number of church members in Germany leaving their churches in 2022 will exide 800,000.

Literally no institute of society is totally free of decay and corruption. In sports and recreation local administrations, for instance in Germany, lament about growing violence. In August, a regional football association in Germany closed all stadiums of the region because of violence during the games.

In Berlin the authorities were forced to shut down swimming pools because of violence getting out of control. This and many other occurrences of such kind have never been there so intensely before. What drives the problem?

 

Local societies under global influence

Do developments in the global world affect integrity in individual life’s and local societies? Is disintegrity a side-effect of globalization even? Do we need to consider global aspects in overcoming disintegrity in our societies?

Indeed globalization, a world-wide process of interconnecting the world, which crosses the pass of human existence on Earth since the 1990s, might be seen as a crucial reason for the problem. Let´s explore some arguments.

It is precisely here, in this fifth dimension, where globalization hits the integrity issue. Integrity as seen above, is closely connected to ethics and morals, it is an ideological and religious set of values. Massive migration in the world, as a result of globalization of the world, is destroying traditional religious and cultural settings. The balance between traditional ethical values and daily life experience is often no more or rather seldom given.

“We live in an ideological vacuum”, said a friend in a Muslim area of Central Asia, after the breakdown of the Soviet Union with all its prescribed behavior. “The only thing left is our own survival and this can easily become inhuman. Ideology is gone, religion was taken away – what is left is unknown.”

Globalization, indeed, fosters and promotes injustice, poverty, disintegrity and corruption

Soon after declaring independency globally active multi-national corporations from the West or China flooded his country. They corrupted the political elite, bribed the administration and bought of land and structures and introduced “their way of business”, a business only interested in personal gain, socially, culturally and, of course, religiously blind [7].

It is, in fact, the multi-nationals, who loudly claim integrity at home and are responsible for corruption outside. Ethical standards and morals are levelled, and social and corporate responsibilities dropped. What counts is personal gain to the expense of the local nature and environment, society and people. They came with promises of a better live, but what is left behind is poverty.

No wonder, this type of development produces a never-ending stream of migration and refugees. The lovely world locals ones called their home, they knew and cherished has become foreign, cold and dangerous. And the lifegiving balance between culture, ethics and life practice is fading away.

Refugees arriving in Europe from countries in Africa and Asia speak a similar language. Most of them have not only lost the safeguard of their culture, tradition and religion, they have often lost their own dignity on the way to their current place of refuge.

“I am a Muslim women”, says Saphira from Afghanistan. “For me, living in sexual purity is Allah's holy will. But on my way to Europe, I was more than once raped. How do I live now? Yes, I bribe, steal and lay to survive. I know this is wrong and inacceptable. But tell me what are the alternatives? Sin has become my way of life. I look into the mirror and fail to recognize my own self.”

I met Saphira in Athens, Greece. She is stuck in the city together with thousands of other refugees. And when she finally arrives in Germany, France or Canada she will face another strange culture hindering her to integrate her broken life in a meaningful healthy concept. The way to integrity for refugees like Saphira is long. She will soon face racial and intellectual injustice and try to cope with moral standards opposed to her Muslim background. Her presence in a new society will intrigue misuse and as a result corrupt not only her life, but also the life of the locals. In fact, any corrupt neighbor is, in the long run, an effective invitation to change one’s own life and adjust it to the context in which you currently live.

Globalization, indeed, fosters and promotes injustice, poverty, disintegrity and corruption.

Globalization – a window to a new and integrated world

Critics of such a pessimistic view on globalization will rightly point to the more positive aspects of globalization – the integration of economic markets, global knowledge and technology transfer, open discourse on democracy, justice, world ethics, and more alike.

I do agree, there are positive aspects of globalization. But globalization is anything else than a guided process. And economic and political forces driving globalization are surely no moral apostles. In fact, there are reasons enough to question the moral integrity of the vast majority of multi-national economic and political force.

The growing critique on a leading role of the West in the world, shows how little some nations trust in ethics and morals coming from Euro-America.

There are positive aspects of globalization. But economic and political forces driving globalization are surely no moral apostles

A one-polar world has lost its appeal, also due to the globalization praxis of the West and western lead institutions. It created and keeps creating wealth for the few at home and turns masses into poverty and hunger elsewhere. The so called capitalist democratic world is too often as corrupt as those regimes she criticizes. “There is never one style for all” [8] the Chinese, Russians, Indians, Brazilians and so on, say as they demand a multi-polar world.

No question, the world needs an international conversation on issues of ethics, morals and justice, but surely not forced by agencies driven by a classic capitalistic spirit of personal gain.

Is this an historic chance for the Church of Christ? Never before was the world so easy to access for Christians as it is today.

 

Christian mission of integrity

Jesus builds the church as ecclesia, from the Greek ec and caleo: the called out. He said: “I will build my ecclesia and the fortress of hell will not prevail” (Matt. 16:18). The Greek named their parliamentarian gathering of all citizens of given city-state, the polis, ecclesia. The citizens were called out of their private business and life to discuss and decide for the well-being of their city [9].

Now, Jesus says his disciples form his ecclesia and are called out of the world, in order to accept the responsibility for the world. They are Salt for the Earth and Light for the world (Matt. 5:13-15). The mission of ecclesia is highly political [10]. God is establishing in her midst a culture of His own kingdom, a kingdom of justice and peace for all people of the world. She is what Lesslie Newbegin (1909-1998) called “a sign, instrument and foretaste of the reign of God” [11]. And to no less has Jesus sent his disciples, commanding them in Matthew 28:18-20:

“‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So you must go and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And you can be sure that I am always with you, to the very end.’”

The missionary commission of Jesus is to disciple nations, or ethne in the original Greek. And the term ethne stands for a distinct socio-cultural space [12]. You could also say – go and transform culture by transforming the norms, values, ethics and morals. In terms of our topic, we could translate – go and introduce to them a functioning integral life, by introducing to them the basic principles of the kingdom of God.

The world out there needs kingdom values, the gospel of justice, restauration which comes with reconciliation with God, with one self, one another and nature and environment.

Saphira, the Muslim women in Athens admired Christian women serving her in the center for refugees. “I wish one day to become like them”, she said.

And my friend in Central Asia recently became a follower of Jesus. “Now I have a basis for my life. I found my faith in Christ and values which change my life to the better. Jesus Christ has made all the difference.”

Surely this does not only happen on an individual level. Kingdom companies lead by devote Christians offer alternative economic structures. They will work for a wellbeing economy [13].

Churches discovering their political responsibility install a critical prophetic voice in society and watch the developments in society closely, offering Salt und Light wherever needed. And they do not just talk, they live an alternative culture, relating to the environment, to society and the world around as well as outside them, as Jesus would do.

Not personal gain drives their actions, but the desire to see the world transform to a better place. They are literally on a wholistic mission, which intends to help the world to live an integral and peaceful life. No question, they offer a global aspect to integrity in personal, functional and organizational matters. And this aspect is the gospel.

 

Johannes Reimer, professor of Missiology and Intercultural Theology and Director of the Departent of Public Engagement of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA).

 

Notes